Leave only footprints

MelissaBCanada · May 19, 2023

Hello All,
I am on day 17 of my pilgrimage from SJPDP to Santiago. It's my first camino and I am enjoying every minute of it. I'm finding fellow peregrinos to be kind, thoughtful, caring people. However, there's evidence of pilgrims leaving orange peels (which take years to decompose), soiled tissue, sanitary products and yes, human feces, behind. Honestly there is no excuse for this behaviour. Pack your garbage and take it with you to dispose of in the next town. On the Meseta today, I sat down on a rock to drink water and was saddened to see what was left behind. I've seen this in other places as well, usually during longer stretches between towns.
Being a pilgrim on the camino is a privilege. Our Spanish hosts go to great length to support us. Please respect the trail and leave no trace.

K_Lynn · May 19, 2023

I'm with you, it drives me mad to see garbage on the trail (or anywhere it's not supposed to be). I frequently ate bananas on Camino and once asked someone I was walking with if he could tuck the peel in the side pocket of my pack as it was awkward to try to get it in, he flung it into the bushes instead and I spent 5 minutes in the blackberry bushes until I found it. He thought I was insane because "iT's oRganIc!"

I do understand that sometimes the wind grabs things while trying to unwrap something or put it away. but people should at least try to collect what they accidentally drop and never purposefully pitch things.

C clearly · May 19, 2023

Yes, we have noticed. You are preaching to the choir!

trecile · May 19, 2023

This is a perennial topic on the forum - I see that @C clearly just took the words out of my mouth as I was typing. Unfortunately the boorish people who do this sort of thing probably won't read your message

alexwalker · May 19, 2023

This has been debated in length in here for many years.

God created us in His/Her image, it is said, but He/She is obviously not perfect, either, so some people turn out not too good. It is a shame. But you cannot teach an old dog to s(h)it.

Take only memories. Leave only footprints.

Edit: You can bring a plastic bag, pick up some rubbish, and leave it in a trash bin in the next village. It helps.

David Tallan · May 19, 2023

MelissaBCanada said:
Hello All,
I am on day 17 of my pilgrimage from SJPDP to Santiago. It's my first camino and I am enjoying every minute of it. I'm finding fellow peregrinos to be kind, thoughtful, caring people. However, there's evidence of pilgrims leaving orange peels (which take years to decompose), soiled tissue, sanitary products and yes, human feces, behind. Honestly there is no excuse for this behaviour. Pack your garbage and take it with you to dispose of in the next town. On the Meseta today, I sat down on a rock to drink water and was saddened to see what was left behind. I've seen this in other places as well, usually during longer stretches between towns.
Being a pilgrim on the camino is a privilege. Our Spanish hosts go to great length to support us. Please respect the trail and leave no trace.

I am completely aligned with your overall sentiments of "leave no trace". But I can't absolutely agree with "leave only footprints" in the thread title, especially for those staying at donativos. Also leaving a donation is appreciated.

Turga · May 20, 2023

Yes, put your garbage in the bins. Good for the community, for the environment and can be quite beneficial for yourself. You can see this poster on the garbage bins in central Copenhagen. In English the text reads:

Official Wishing Well.
Your own garbage..............1 wish
Some one else's.................. 3 wishes

Patterson · May 20, 2023

MelissaBCanada said:
Hello All,
I am on day 17 of my pilgrimage from SJPDP to Santiago. It's my first camino and I am enjoying every minute of it. I'm finding fellow peregrinos to be kind, thoughtful, caring people. However, there's evidence of pilgrims leaving orange peels (which take years to decompose), soiled tissue, sanitary products and yes, human feces, behind. Honestly there is no excuse for this behaviour. Pack your garbage and take it with you to dispose of in the next town. On the Meseta today, I sat down on a rock to drink water and was saddened to see what was left behind. I've seen this in other places as well, usually during longer stretches between towns.
Being a pilgrim on the camino is a privilege. Our Spanish hosts go to great length to support us. Please respect the trail and leave no trace.

Thank you Melissa for raising this issue. As an over 70, I have been appalled by the "white flowers" aka toilet paper, festooning pristine spring growth on del Norte. As pilgrims, we are guests in this country and should have the decency to respect not only people and place, but also the environment. No doubt some women carry paper in plastic - please, take another plastic bag with you for your used paper. And if you are really caught out on the track, it doesn't take much time to find a rock, grass or leaves to cover the evidence. If the idea of cleaning up your own mess is uncomfortable for you, imagine how disgusting it is for those who discover your leftovers.

jabrown · May 20, 2023

trecile said:
This is a perennial topic on the forum - I see that @C clearly just took the words out of my mouth as I was typing. Unfortunately the boorish people who do this sort of thing probably won't read your message

Yes, they are likely on FB.

Jan Jones · May 20, 2023

jabrown said:
Yes, they are likely on FB.

I’m not sure what you mean by this. I use both the Forum and dedicated Facebook groups.

Jodean · May 20, 2023

Walking behind a Spanish pilgrim a few days ago. She blew her nose & dropped the tissue in the path. I was close enough to see it but not sure what to say in Spanish?

If more women weren’t so squeamish about using a pee rag, (washing it each day) this would solve a lot of the problems.

jabrown · May 20, 2023

Jan Jones said:
I’m not sure what you mean by this. I use both the Forum and dedicated Facebook groups.

I do too, but I think this forum has more of an informational mission in regards to the Camino, whereas FB is more of a talk board about general travel issues occurring around the Camino. There is more depth here.

Gerard Griffin · May 20, 2023

Pharisees leave no trace and always give the donativo. But the Camino is for the Publicans. It's a big country and it can deal with the residue of human traffic, no bother. Judge not. Cherish your fellow pilgrims, those who are messy and imperfect most of all.

alexwalker · May 20, 2023

Some people are only lovable by their mothers....

Goyo · May 21, 2023

MelissaBCanada said:
Hello All,
I am on day 17 of my pilgrimage from SJPDP to Santiago. It's my first camino and I am enjoying every minute of it. I'm finding fellow peregrinos to be kind, thoughtful, caring people. However, there's evidence of pilgrims leaving orange peels (which take years to decompose), soiled tissue, sanitary products and yes, human feces, behind. Honestly there is no excuse for this behaviour. Pack your garbage and take it with you to dispose of in the next town. On the Meseta today, I sat down on a rock to drink water and was saddened to see what was left behind. I've seen this in other places as well, usually during longer stretches between towns.
Being a pilgrim on the camino is a privilege. Our Spanish hosts go to great length to support us. Please respect the trail and leave no trace.

Pack it in, pack it out. Simple really.

Colleen Kathma · May 21, 2023

MelissaBCanada said:
Hello All,
I am on day 17 of my pilgrimage from SJPDP to Santiago. It's my first camino and I am enjoying every minute of it. I'm finding fellow peregrinos to be kind, thoughtful, caring people. However, there's evidence of pilgrims leaving orange peels (which take years to decompose), soiled tissue, sanitary products and yes, human feces, behind. Honestly there is no excuse for this behaviour. Pack your garbage and take it with you to dispose of in the next town. On the Meseta today, I sat down on a rock to drink water and was saddened to see what was left behind. I've seen this in other places as well, usually during longer stretches between towns.
Being a pilgrim on the camino is a privilege. Our Spanish hosts go to great length to support us. Please respect the trail and leave no trace.

Absolutely agree with you. I walked my first Camino - Frances over August - October 2022. Stunned, saddened and disappointed to see much rubbish of all kinds along the sacred way. I believe it's a privilege to walk this special Pilgrimage that should be respected.

Richard Smith · May 22, 2023

There was so much toilet paper/tissues (and worse) that we just called them the "Flowers of the Camino".

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